1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a layout for a glass manufacturing system, a glass handling method, and a glass therefrom, and more particularly, to a layout for a glass manufacturing system, which may improve a distribution flow and increase a factory site utilization by reducing the number of steps (including, for example, packing, unloading, and the like) from a hot process to shipping of products in the manufacture of a glass by a float process and by optimizing a manufacturing process in a continuous line, and a glass handling method and a glass therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a glass manufacturing system using a float process makes a glass by forming a glass of a ribbon shape with predetermined width and thickness while continuously supplying a molten glass onto a molten metal stored in a float bath and advancing the molten glass floating above the molten metal.
Here, the molten metal includes, for example, molten tin or molten tin alloy, and has a larger specific gravity than the molten glass. The molten metal is received in the float bath filled with reducing hydrogen (H2) and/or nitrogen (N2) gas. Also, the float bath receiving the molten metal has a horizontally elongated structure in which special refractory material is embedded. The molten glass is formed into a glass of a ribbon shape on the surface of the molten metal while moving from an upstream of the float bath to a downstream. Then, the glass is moved to an annealing lehr.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a layout for a conventional glass manufacturing system by a float process, and a structure and a function of each floor of a factory building for each process.
Referring to FIG. 1, the layout 1 for the system for manufacturing and handling a glass for a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) includes a first factory building 10 where a hot process 12 for loading a glass raw material and forming a float glass of a ribbon shape is performed, and a second factory building 20 where a first handling process 22 for etching the glass and a second handling process 32 for polishing the glass are performed.
The hot process 12 includes loading a raw material in a batch plant 11, melting the raw material in a tank 13, and forming a glass of a ribbon shape while passing the raw material through a float bath 15. In the hot process 12, the glass ribbon is passed through an impurity inspector (not shown) and is automatically designed based on a preset size. Also, in the hot process 12, the glass ribbon is cut in a widthwise direction and a lengthwise direction based on a design, and is gone through a packing step 19. A semi-product packed in the hot process 12 is moved to the second factory building 20 by an off-line transfer means (not shown). Generally, an equipment related to the hot process 12 is installed in the second floor of the first factory building 10, and a variety of pipes, a cooling fan, a conveyor for treating a glass fraction, and the like, are installed in the first floor of the first factory building 10.
To put the glass of a semi-product type in the first handling process 22, a paper used to pack the glass in the packing step 19 of the hot process 12 is removed, and each glass is unloaded using a robot system (not shown). Then, the unloaded glass of a semi-product type is gone through a final cutting step 23, a beveling step 25, an etching step 27, an inspection step 29, and a second packing step 24. After the second packing step 24, the glass is moved to the second handling process 32.
The second handling process 32 includes unloading 31 of the glass packed in the first handling process 22, a polishing step 33 for polishing the surface of the glass using a polishing machine (not shown), a cleaning step 35 for cleaning the polished glass, a final inspection step 37, a final packing step 39, and shipping of the packed glass. The shipped glass as a final product may be provided to a panel manufacturer.
However, the conventional glass manufacturing process and the layout 1 for the conventional glass manufacturing system have inconvenience of inserting and removing a packing paper two times, unloading a glass two times, and packing a glass three times. As a result, the layout 1 for the conventional glass manufacturing system causes problems, for example, loss of quality related to packing, and consumption of excessive operating costs such as costs for packing papers, labor costs, costs for maintenance and repair, and investment costs, and the like. Also, facilities are wasted, for example, a separate factory building for each process is used. In particular, a distribution flow is not considerably economical and productive.